Fractured: A Tarotologist's Tale (DISCONTINUED)
by Duublem
Summary: For Seikatsu Tabi, the importance of the Fool's Journey goes beyond a metaphorical guide to life and becomes quite the literal mess for the girl facing a world struck by despair. Possessed by the Major Arcana, she tackles the trials and tribulations facing all sides of herself as she faces her destiny as the Ultimate Tarotologist. [Prequel and Midquel to Crit Fail's Kuma Kuma Land]


**Fractured: A Tarotologist's Tale**

**Chapter 0**

**2012**

"Mama, please tell me about the Major Arcana," requested the pale little girl lying under the covers in her bed. She sported grey eyes and free-flowing black hair that went past her shoulders.

Her mother, who sported orange eyes and free-flowing tangerine-colored hair past her hip, responded to her 9-year-old daughter. "Again, Seikatsu? You really love the tale of the Fool's Journey, don't you?"

Seikatsu nodded. "You always tell people about them, and I want to remember them forever and ever."

The mother giggled. "Well, it is important to know about the stages of life. I'm just surprised you wanted to learn them that quickly, or even wanted to memorize them at all. I was expecting Tabi's Tarotology to live as long as its owner, Kōgō Tabi, would live. To have you interested in the tarot so fervently at your age, is a blessing indeed. Very well."

Kōgō grabbed the tarot cards she gave to Seikatsu for her daughter's last birthday from the cabinet next to Seikatsu's bed. Reorganizing the cards in their numerical order, Kōgō pulled the card marked with "0" from the deck and held out the card's image towards her daughter's face.

The "0" card showed a traveling man with a saddle bag, keeping his head held high and his arms flung wide.

"We start our lives as the Fool," began Kōgō. "The Fool is innocent and holds onto his faith, not yet a witness to the hazards and trials and experiences that his path in life would lead him to. He has not yet suffered and learned, yet his heart guides him to venture forth. He is marked by the number 0, for he is empty of experience and yet can circle infinitely around the knowledge that life will behold him."

Kōgō then put the card of the Fool down on Seikatsu's blanket, as she next pulled the card marked with "I" from the deck. The card's image showed a robed man raising his right hand while holding a wand in said hand.

"Upon setting out, the Fool encounters the Magician. The Magician is a man of initiative, a man who takes action and seeks to affect his world. The Magician is naive, and does not control his recklessness and mischief in his impacts toward others."

Kōgō then put the card of the Magician down next to the card of the Fool, as she then pulled the card marked with "II" from the deck. The card's image showed a robed woman holding scrolls in her hands.

"Shortly after the Magician lies the High Priestess. The High Priestess contemplates her surroundings, and seeks to expand her knowledge beyond the internal details she keeps within herself."

Kōgō then selected the card marked with "III" after putting the High Priestess card down. The card's image showed a robed woman with a starry crown raising a staff in her right hand.

"The Fool, young in his age, first recognizes his mother. The Empress provides nurture and sustenance to her followers and children, and she helps them grow into maturity with a gentle hand."

Kōgō then selected the card marked with "IV" next. The card's image showed a robed and crowned man wielding an ankh in his right hand while sitting upon a throne.

"The Fool then recognizes his father. The Emperor provides order, guidance, structure, and authority to those beneath him. His rules and leadership impart others with a firm hand."

"Mommy, what was Daddy like?" asked Seikatsu.

Kōgō paused in her storytelling as she looked upon Seikatsu with concern at her daughter's question and breathed a heavy sigh before answering.

"Your father...He was a man who continually faced hard work day after day after day. Every time he went back to his home, he always had a curious eye gazing at my services. And I could easily tell of his exhaustion after his labors throughout all his visits for my guidance. He thanked me so much for attracting his eye and giving him something interesting to live for while he attended to his business's requests within Tokyo. After several divinations together, he invited me out to drink with him. I've never been given that kind of offer even with the high amounts of gratitude that I received from customers beforehand, and so I obliged to see what interactions would spring forth between the two of us. And the more I talked with your father, the more I felt connected to him. I hoped this connection was sturdy enough to last after you were born, but your father did not want to involve himself in taking care of you. He left Tokyo before you were brought to life, and all I know is that he returned back to America to work with his company there."

"I wanted to search for him, but I grew too attached to you to distract myself with such a lengthy endeavor. I know it is not easy to accept that your father did not want to raise you, my dear child, but do not believe that you're not a miracle. The moment I laid eyes on you, I believed...no, I knew that you were destined for greatness, Seikatsu Tabi."

Seikatsu felt saddened at the thought of her father abandoning her, but Kōgō made quick work of alleviating Seikatsu's mood by returning back to entertaining her daughter with the tale of the fool's journey.

Kōgō selected the card marked with "V" next. The card's image showed a crowned man with one pillar on each of his sides, and one follower beneath each of his sides.

"The Fool becomes accustomed to culture and society under the wisdom of the Hierophant, whose advice helps the traveler to conform to his environment."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "VI" next. The card's image showed a man and a woman standing next to each other beneath a large heart.

"The Fool becomes attracted to another and yearns for a strong connection and relationship. He begins to establish his own choices, and his own bonds. He seeks to become entwined with his partner as a pair of Lovers."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "VII" next. The card's image showed a princely figure carried by two sphinxes beneath him.

"As the Fool matures into an adult during his journey, he pulls himself into victory and confidence with the power of the Chariot. He is committed to triumph and victory, and pushes himself forward past obstacles as such."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "VIII" next. The card's image showed a set of scales hung from a sword.

"The Fool reflects on his decisions and their effects. He learns and evaluates what is right and what is wrong; to follow fairness and accept the responsibility when it comes to displaying power is the essence of Justice."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "IX" next. The card's image showed an old, bearded, and robed man wielding a staff in his left hand and a lantern in the other.

"It is with reflection that the Fool gazes into his inner self and contemplates his values in comparison or contrast with those around him. Through introspection, he yearns for a deeper truth to his actions and feelings and isolates himself into quietness and solitude as a Hermit would do when surveying society and culture from a distance."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "X" next. The card's image showed a revolving wheel with a sword in the center of it.

"It is during his contemplations that the Fool thinks about his destiny, and the infinite happenstances that fate could throw at him. He focuses on the Wheel of Fortune, a recognition of the directions and paths that potentially lie out before him and which are dependent on his actions and mindsets."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XI" next. The card's image showed a calm woman standing tall over a fierce lion.

"It is in his intense drive as the Chariot that the Fool realizes the necessary values of patience and control. For power without control can easily destroy not only others, but oneself as well. Mastering thy power requires the utmost Strength to hone thyself without forcing thyself."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XII" next. The card's image showed a man hanging upside down from a rope attached to his right foot.

"It is after experiencing the early stages of his journey that the Fool encounters the challenge of changing from his original mindset when the obstacles seem too high. It is in his struggle to let go of his old ways and intentions that he feels stuck, or rather hung. But in the state of being a Hanged Man, the Fool accepts to let go and sacrifice what he values for the sake of himself and others around him. It is in letting go while in a hung state that he achieves serenity."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XIII" next. The card's image showed a skull centered within the shape of an X.

"By losing and moving past what was ancient and early within the Fool's mind and history during his journey, the Fool can ready himself for a new growth and experience in the days ahead during his trek. He experiences Death, the loss of his old values, beliefs, and motivations. And in this loss, his purpose is renewed for continuous trials and tribulations ahead."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XIV" next. The card's image showed a winged angel pouring liquid from one grail to another.

"It is in his recent state of emotional change that the Fool learns the importance of equilibrium and balance. With the power of Temperance, the Fool learns to moderate and calm his temptations and urges so that he achieves grace and peace for his body and mind. He retreats inward, and attempts to calm and control himself again so that his self can achieve relaxation without relying on material desires."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XV" next. The card's image showed the head of a horned demon.

"But even with the importance of the soothing power of Temperance, the Fool is still incomplete in his growth. He falls back to desires of materials and flesh, temptations of the id that become fully realized as the Fool reverts to a state of primal satisfaction that would accompany such a Devil."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XVI" next. The card's image showed a tower crumbling with several of its pieces across the structure falling to the ground.

"It is after he loses himself in embracing his body and mind's basic instincts that the Tower of which that embodies the Fool's experiences and education comes crashing down. The Fool loses sight of what he learned, and not only damages his connection to others, but also impairs the growth that accompanied the Fool among all the sights and sensations which the traveler had to come to appreciate before his collapse. But in the crashing of the Fool's Tower, we are reminded that nothing is permanent, and everything has an end. What changes is when and how that end arrives."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XVII" next. The card's image showed a naked woman picking up a jug full of water from a pond and emptying another jug of water on the land next to the pond while radiant stars shine over her.

"It is after his collapse that the Fool is laid bare and hides nothing, with his true and naked form becoming lit by the radiance of the night sky's stars. The Star is a bright beacon of hope and beauty, its light serving to remind the Fool of the magnificence of the land around him. He renews his body and his spirit, and sets forth to experience and change more of his environment as he starts to regain his confidence under the mesmerizing light of the Star."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XVIII" next. The card's image showed a full moon with a crescent shape within bearing over two dogs howling and a crayfish arriving out of a stream leading to the ocean.

"It is in the Fool's return to his trek that he soon encounters illusions and deception. He faces secrets and hidden truths, akin to the Moon shining its bright light while also maintaining a dark and mysterious side behind its radiant front."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XIX" next. The card's image showed a sun shining down on a child riding a white horse amid a field of sunflowers.

"Despite the trepidation and fears arising in the Fool during his discoveries, his spirit is brightened as his future becomes filled with hope and optimism. He glows with an energy dispelling his worries, much like the Sun casting away the darkness."

Kōgō selected the card marked with "XX" next. The card's image showed an angel blowing his trumpet beneath a group of naked humans.

"After all his experiences, changes, and growth, the Fool will soon reach the end of his journey. Before doing so, however, he must face Judgment. He must remember all of his trials and tribulations, all of his actions and consequences, and all of his bright and dark moments. It is through his reevaluation of himself that he can finally determine what he will do for the remainder of his life and decide how to utilize the maturation that he's obtained."

Almost all of Seikatsu's Major Arcana cards laid on her bed as Kōgō held only the final card in the deck after putting down Judgment. The final card was marked with "XXI", and its image displayed a woman hovering above the earth surrounded by a green wreath shaped in the form of a "0," while being watched by various animals.

"After the journey he experiences, the Fool has learned of the World around him; because of his maturation during his trek, he now finally seeks to become one with his World. The journey to influence and shape his World is neverending, but the journey to decide on embracing his interactions and communications with others besides himself has ended. The Fool, who was naive in understanding the World around him, now seeks to affect it in spite of all the troubles and stress he had to endure. He stays strong and firm, his path before him set but still open to all sorts of infinite possibilities. Until his death, the Fool finally seeks the most out of his life and in doing so merges with the rest of those in the World who continue to realize their purpose in spite of and because of everything that shaped them. The Fool's Journey is not successful for all, as many lose themselves in sins and disasters. But when taken, such a journey can no better illustrate the greatest adventure than that of life; life, its stories and ends both beautiful and tragic, is the greatest gift that the universe has bestowed upon us."

Seikatsu smiled as her mother finished her narration, and Kōgō proceeded to kiss her daughter on the cheek.

"You are like the Fool, Seikatsu," said Kōgō. "You are young and ignorant of the world's challenges and surprises ahead of your life. But I know you will grow. I know you will experience your own journey, your own discoveries, and your own tests of spirit and will. But like the Fool, you will become closer and closer to embracing the World around you in its full glory regardless of all the pain and stress it could throw at you. So rest now, my little Fool. For tomorrow is another day of experience and education, and you'll be one step closer to solidifying your purpose and your connections with others in this realm. For it is through bonds that the Fool becomes the World."

Seikatsu slightly nodded to her mother while her mind and body finally drifted off into slumber. The last thoughts that the little tarotologist-in-training had before falling into sleep was of anticipation for the life that she would grow into, and of hope to see her mother's warm smile filled with pride at her older daughter following in the footsteps of her mother's devoted utilization of the tarot.

**August 2020**

"**Yeesh wake up you damn stinking brats! We're on a tight schedule today!" **An impatient and gruff voice exclaimed over a speaker.

The Fool stirred awake from her slumber as she began to regard her surroundings, becoming more and more tense as she examined her current situation.

She found herself seated behind restraints on some kind of massive roller coaster. As she looked around, she noticed four other teenagers close to her age in the row she was seated in. She tried to count how many rows of cars accompanied the coaster, but being seated near the back end of the coaster made it hard to see the front side. She observed several tall spikes littering the ground below the hundreds of feet in the air that the coaster was suspended in. In the far distance from her position was a gigantic amusement park, with unsettling carnival music playing from that area.

"_Aw man, it's been ages since we went to a theme park!" exclaimed the Sun._

"_This place is beyond the scope of all the amusement parks we've seen before. I am so eager to observe all of its details," noted the High Priestess._

"_Hell yeah! I can't wait for this ride to get going!" exclaimed the Magician._

"_I'm looking forward to seeing couples blossom in their connection at the Tunnel of Love after we're off this ride," said Lovers._

"_I can't wait to show off on the high striker!" exclaimed the Chariot._

"_Don't overblow your power for fun, Chariot. I understand the necessity of your recklessness sometimes, but the last thing we need is for you to accidentally knock the hammer against our head," said Strength._

"_To oversee the site of pleasure and fun from atop a structure like the Ferris wheel is an inspiring image that will lighten the mind," noted the Star._

"_I'll tell you what's inspiring. Getting in a quick fuck on top of that wheel would liven up my sex life. Hell, why even be so basic? I could have some more fun and thrills screwing someone on this rollercoaster, that's for sure," said the Devil._

"_You do not limit your ideas for debauchery, do you?" asked a worried Temperance._

"_I concur with Temperance. To lose our life over such an empty-headed action with no need for such risk is wasteful," said the Hanged Woman._

"_Hey, this body needs some release once in a while. If it stays tense, it's only gonna make Death come quicker," explained the Devil._

"_We understand the need for release, dearie. But there's no need to place that much danger on this body for the release to occur," said the soft-spoken Empress._

"_Is nobody pointing out how strange all of this is? One minute, we were talking about entering Hope's Peak, the next we wake up on some big-ass rollercoaster over a bunch of spikes on the ground. I don't like this at all. I hope it isn't what I think it is," said the Hierophant._

"_This is bizarre, but we must remain calm if we wish to determine how to escape and survive such a peculiar affair," said the Hermit._

"_Escape and survive? So you believe what I fear is coming. Loss, tens and tens of it. We considered the possibility when joining Hope's Peak, but we also hoped that it could be brought under control at this point after the few horrific games we witnessed. That hope is not absolute, but we believed that the fear of our class collapsing like the others was not absolute either," said the Wheel of Fortune._

"_We were damned if we do and damned if we don't," started the Tower. "It's either maintain our course with Death looming over the horizon as has been done before, or try believing that Hope's Peak could reform this mind into a more peaceful and unified state. We were not meant to exist, but the Fool is too damaged to face this reality on her own. What's done is done. What matters now is how we handle our course on this coaster."_

"_We do not want to end up on the ground, especially with those spikes ensuring an overkill to us. We must make sure to have a firm grip, and check to see what else we can hold onto if this coaster starts to fall apart. Hopefully, we can find and get onto a platform without fatal damages before this coaster crashes, if that is this mastermind's intention," said the Moon._

"_Once I get off this damn ride, I'm gonna cave in the face of the sick fuck who brought us and everyone else here on this death trap," stated the Emperor._

"_Everyone, please don't talk anymore. I can't focus on what's happening with all this chatter and the high coaster making me feel more sick than anything else I've dealt with for the last seven years," said the frightened Fool._

"_Are you set to believe you're about to die, Fool? Because of all the pain you've been dealt, you made a promise. Are you giving up that promise and accepting this as your end?" asked the Hermit._

"_No! I don't want to die, and I don't want to abandon my chance to fix what has overtook me for several years!" answered the Fool with more strength in her voice as she maintained the light of control over her body at the moment while the other arcana continued to slowly dim._

"_**Welcome one and all to the most despair inducing place on earth! You're probably shitting yourselves, wondering how you ended up in this place. Don't you worry yourselves, that will come soon enough."**_ A bark of laughter could be heard echoing throughout the park. _**"I believe it's time for a little exposition capiche? You see all of you are candidates that were meant to be scouted for the Class of 81-A of Hope's Peak Academy**__._ _**Normally the scout in charge would have picked sixteen of you to comprise a single class. Whelp unfortunately he's not here, so we've gotta find our own way of picking your classmates. A true way of slimming the herd. This bear really enjoys games of chance, so that's exactly how we're going to play this. When this coaster reaches its end, only those remaining will get to enter and play the next game."**_ A howl of laughter could be heard across the park's PA system.

The Fool's eyes widened in terror at the confirmation that she was involved in another killing game that would annihilate the Ultimate students of Hope's Peak Academy, except now the roster was much larger than had been seen with the other games displayed before today. As she started to hyperventilate, the Fool noticed not only that the rollercoaster started to move forward, but also that a red light was flickering between seats on the coaster, including hers. She then saw a seat way ahead of her position eject upwards from the coaster, as the student originally sitting on that ejected seat continued to scream while falling all the way down to the spiky ground. The Fool averted her gaze from the sight of the student reaching contact with the ground spike below him.

The coaster continued to move, as each seat that the red light landed on became ejected out from the ride along with the students positioned in those sights. The Fool closed her eyes tightly, wincing every time she heard a seat eject and another student scream especially when the screams were fading lower and lower beneath her.

As she kept to her continuously fast exhaling, the Fool's life began to flash within her closed eyes. She thought of the arcana who had been by her side for several years, and how they made her struggles easier while she tried to regain her fortitude. And then she remembered her mother, and one of the lines from Kōgō Tabi that stuck with the Fool for many years.

"_Do not believe that you're not a miracle. The moment I laid eyes on you, I believed...no, I knew that you were destined for greatness, Seikatsu Tabi."_

Could the Fool still believe she was destined for greatness as she waited for the red light to stop on her and send her to her end? Part of her wanted to hold onto the restraints for fear of falling out of her seat, but another part wanted to remove the restraints and jump onto another seat in the case the red light falls to her. The Fool couldn't decide, and it was in her frustration that another voice began to speak.

"It seems fortune smiled upon us. I don't believe I caught your name."

The Fool turned to regard the voice seated next to her. It belonged to a boy close to her age with dark blood red hair and eyes, along with light tanned skin. She noticed that the boy was missing his left leg and right arm, but considering the severity of the situation both students found themselves in, the Fool opted quickly to ignore the boy's disabilities.

She thought about what the boy said. Was fortune smiling upon the two of them? She had noticed that several seats in multiple rows were gone, and yet she and the boy were still right where they were. Perhaps she needn't worry about the light landing on her, but she wasn't ignorant enough to ignore the ongoing chance of death still at large.

Though it may seem too casual in this situation, the Fool opted to introduce herself to alleviate the sickness in her stomach that stayed with her as the ride started up. If she could talk in a calm manner, then it would make it easier for the girl to keep a sane mind through all the mayhem and to believe that she will survive.

"Oh right...well...my name is Seikatsu Tabi. I was told that I would serve well as the Ultimate Tarotologist, but I'm nowhere near as good as my m-mother was. But if you really need some advice on your life's journey after this tragedy, I'll try to guide you with the wisdom, paths, and choices of the Major Arcana that the tarot has provided. Just don't be too angry with the Arcana you're given for the moment, please?"

The Fool bit her lip as she continued to feel her stomach twisting after her introduction.

"It seems we're quite a diverse group. My condolences if any of the departed were your friends," said the boy who soon nearly gagged at the sight he witnessed on the ground.

The Fool daren't look down, as she would not feel strong enough to witness the carnage that was surely piling up as more and more bodies of teenagers reaching a painful and bloody end continued to occur.

It was after the boy recomposed himself that he proceeded to give his introduction.

"My name is Sigmund Shiraishi, and I'm known as the Ultimate Paralympic Athlete. Perhaps we'll have a chance to speak further later. It seems we have survived this twisted game for now."

The Fool noticed that the roller coaster was slowing down to a stop at a station in front of the seats containing her, Sigmund, and some more students who were lucky enough not to be selected for death during the ride's course.

A light flickered on at the darkened station as the seat restraints were suddenly released. Standing at the platform was a stuffed bear. Half of his body was dark-grey and half black split equally down the center. He wore a dark-grey fedora hat with a red and white feather on it. He had gold teeth and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. He also wore an eye-patch with a heart decal over the right eye, a black tie, and a golden chain with a padlock and star-shaped charm.

"_**Hahaha! Massacre! Banzaaai! M to the A to the motherfuckin' "ssacre"! Oh yeah! Massacre, what an awesome word! It's downright magical! It has a great ring to it, a beat to it, the beatbox beating of my heart!"**_ The bear exclaimed as his gaze flitted between the group. _**"Gah and we were really shooting for sixteen of you. Oh well a promise is a promise capiche? You all made it this far, if you're going to die it'll be at each other's hands from now on." **_He chortled as he tapped his foot against the floor.

"Um excuse me Mister Bear?" asked a little girl much younger than the other teenagers present, closer to ten years of age. "What exactly is this place and who are you? If this is all some sort of joke, it's really not funny."

"_**What is this place you ask? Nothing like a name drop to get the blood flowing! Welcome to the one, the only, KUMA KUMA LAND! Let's just say it's the most despair inducing place on Earth. As for me, I'm the motherfucker who runs this part of the park, but you can call me Kurokuma!"**_ The bear maintained a wild grin while switching his gaze among the group of survivors.

As the Fool kept staring at the moving teddy bear, she continued to feel tension crushing inwards her head as it was very much confirmed by the emphasis of despair from Kurokuma that they were no doubt stuck in a killing game. With the surviving teenagers and one little girl looking on in apprehension towards their new residence and host in the tragic and terrifying days to come, the arcana within the body of Seikatsu Tabi all had one collective reaction:

"_Well, this isn't good…"_


End file.
